The present invention relates to a laser beam fiber delivery system, and particularly to one useful in surgical lasers for delivering a laser beam to a working site.
The invention is especially useful in surgical lasers of the Nd:YAG laser type including optical fibers for delivering the laser beam to the working site. The conventional laser beam delivery system of this type includes a single fiber cord, of about 3-4 meters in length, connected between the laser beam source and the working site. However, such a single fiber cord is generally not reusable, and therefore a substantial expense is involved in disposing it after a single use. Moreover, it is frequently necessary, for different surgical procedures and effects, to use different types of fiber tips, such as pointed, hemispherical or flat tips, sometimes for contact, and other times for non-contact with the tissue at the working site. For example, a surgical procedure may require first a contact-type tip for incising tissue, and then a non-contact-type tip for coagulation of the tissue. A change-over from one type of tip to another is not only expensive because of the need to replace the complete fiber cord, but is also inconvenient and time-consuming.
It would therefore be highly desirable, particularly in a surgical laser, to provide a laser beam delivery system having advantages in the above respects.